Serving apparatus



Feb. 26, 1935. J. DEMOS ssnvme APPARATUS Filed Oct. 26, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Iimaentor Gttomegs Feb. 26, 1935. DEMOS 1,992,861

SERVING APPARATUS Filed Oct.- 26, 1932 2 SheetS -SheeLZ ZSnnentor Cittornegs.

Patented Feb. 26, 1935 ULJNITED STATES PA ENT on sERvmG nrmmaros f 7 v James Demos, Jacksonville i-Fl v Application am 26,1932; 'SerialNo, 639,713

' V z ims. (c1. rss- 1) "This invention'relates to apparatus designed primarily for use in lunch rooms" and restaurants whereby. food can be conveyedfrom the kitchen or other pointof supply, to placesaccessible to customers who, while standing still, can make selections from the displayed foodpassin'g before them. A "further object is to provide a conveying means for keeping the food at desired temperatures while in motion:

which can be installed readily as a unit and will operate quietly and e'fliciently both to transport the foods to the customers and to returnsoiled sired place.

With the foregoing and other objects 'inyiew which will appear as the description proceeds the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details ofconstruction hereinafter described and claimed it being understood that changes in theprecise -e1n-' bodiment of theinvention herein'disclosed may be madewithin the scope of what is claimed without departing-from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in plan and partly in section, of the apparatus, an intermediate portion being broken away.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2--2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged central vertical transverse section.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates a housing of any desired proportions adapted to extend from a kitchen wall or partition.

It is located where it is accessible readily by customers. The end portions of the housing can be closed by front panels 2 for the purpose of concealing the end mechanism of the conveyor and the lower portion of the space between these panels can also be closed by a front panel 3. The back of the housing can be placed against a wall W but usually the housing will extent into the room so that customers can stand at both sides.

Erected in the end portions of the housing and also at intermediate points if found necessary or desirable, are standards each consisting preferably ofopposed angle members 4 suitably connected at their lower ends to transverse base strips 5 and at their upper ends to top beams 6.

;and-empty dishes to jthekitchen or other de-' The top '7 of thehousing can be supported by these latter beams. A

Cross arms 8;'9 and lozare attached to the a standards. The lower arms 8 support an angle strip 11' which. forms a continuous rail having an inner upstanding continuous flange 12.- Those portions of the rail and its flange in the end portions ofthe housing are semicircular and concentric with vertical shafts 1'3 and 14 located 1 in the housing. Shaft" 13 is journaled-in upper A still further object is'to provide apparatus and lower brackets -15 carried by the adjacent standard members 4w'h'ile shaft 14 is journaled in slidable 'bo'xes 16 in upper and lower brackets 17 carried by the standard members lat the other end of the'housing. These boxes can be adjusted by scre'ws 18, as will-be obvious, for thepurpose of shifting shaft; 14 toward or from it :I 1' p J L3 H i inner rail- 19 is surrounded by and parallel with the rail' fiange 12 andtcoopera't'es therewith to form 'a continuous track or runway. This rail is partly overhung by a continuous inverted angle rail 20" parallel with rail 19 and secured to standard members 4. The bottom surface oflthe top-*portion -of the "rail 20 constitutes a bearing surface as hereinafter explained; r I r Extending over the rails 11, 19 and 20 is an endless belt in the form of a chain 21 or the like mounted on wheels or sprockets 22 secured to shafts 13 and 14. Separate trays extend outwardly over the rails from the chain or belt as shown at 23, and each has a flange 24 at its inner end attached at its center to the belt or chain 21.

Connected to the bottom of each trayis a pair of rollers or wheels 25 which travel on rail 11 and additional wheels or rollers 26 are attached to the inner sides of the trays and travel along the bottom surface of rail 20. These wheels 25 and 26 cooperate to hold the trays substantially horizontal as they are drawn along the rails by the belts 21. Another set of wheels 26 is carried by the trays for travel between flange 12 and rail 19 and act to guide the trays during their travel,

A second endless belt or chain 21 is located above arms 9 and driven by sprockets 22. This belt also has a series of trays 27 secured thereto and extending over another set of rails 11, 19 and 20 such as already described, there being wheels 25, 26 and 26' cooperating therewith.

A third series of trays 28 is extended over an upper set of rails 11, 19 and 20 on the upper arms 10, these trays being attached to an upper endless belt or chain21 driven by sprockets 22 on shafts 13 and 14. These trays also have wheels 25, 26 and 26' cooperating with the rails.

The arms 9 have depending shield plates 29 overhanging the adjacent trays 23 so as to con ceal the central supporting and conveying structure.

Located beneath the trays 28 are arms 30 supporting a metal pan 31 extending under all portions of the upper series of trays 28 and this pan has a layer of insulation indicated at 31'. 1 Between the insulation and the trays 28 are steam coils or pipes 32 for heating trays 28 and th articles carried thereby.

Pipes 33 for conducting a refrigerant are located above trays 27 and beneath pan 30.

Downwardly and outwardly inclined insulating panels 34 are located under and back of the pipes 33 and are adapted to drain into gutters 35 having drain gutters 36 or the like.

Shield panels 37 are supported by arms 6 so motion and said trays will move through partition P, along housing 1 in full view of the customers, and then return to the kitchen by traveling back of the shields 29 and 37 and the insula- Empty trays can be easily replenished as they travel through the kitchen.

endless belts, upper and lower seriesof trays connected at their inner ends to the respective belts, said trays being arranged close together so as to constitute substantially continuous top and bottom closures of a food containing space, stationary heat exchange means within said space, rails beneaththe inner end portions of ing its movement with the belt and to support,

the tray in a substantially horizontalposition during such; movement and while subjected to the weight of a. load on the unsupported outer end portion thereof.

2. Serving apparatus including superposed end-r less belts, a series of closely arranged trays connected to each belt, thereby to provide upper and lower closures for a food containingspace within the apparatus, a pan within said space substantially closed by the trays of the upper series while moving thereover, stationary heat exchange means within the pan and concealed by the trays thereover, lower stationary heat exchange means below the pan, the trays of the lower series constituting means for substantially preventing downward circulation of air from said lower heat exchange means, and means at the inner end of all the trays for guiding'the trays while moving with the belts and for maintaining the trays substantially horizontal while their outer unsupported ends are carrying aload.

JAMES DEMOS. 

